Redress (gxg)

Chapter 16 "Disclosure"

Stepping out of the shower, I strode towards the mirror, and slowly wiped the fog off to see my reflection. I admit, seeing myself with my natural blonde hair, made me realize how much I missed it. It felt good having it back. I felt like I was myself again. I had been hiding behind Alexandra Kensington for a while now, and I felt like I was starting to lose who I was.

The reason why I decided to have my blonde hair back was that, I was planning to reveal myself to Amelia. She already knew who I was, yet she hadn't told Cliff about my identity, because if she did, her husband had already buried me six feet under. If she really cared about me, then I had to take advantage of it, but if she didn't, then two could play the game.

As I adjusted the white silk robe I was wearing, I suddenly heard faint knocks on the door in the living room. Sighing, I went out of the bathroom, and walked through the living room, heading to the door. Expecting Becca, I calmly looked through the peephole only to see the woman I had been trying to avoid for days. This was her third time coming here just this week, and I admit, her persistence was admiring, but same as the other days, coming here would be for naught as I had no plan of seeing her.

The knocking had turned into pounding as she kept calling my name without answer.

"Come on Alex, I know you're in there, open the door!" she demanded, making me close my eyes in annoyance. "Alex, please! I need to talk to you." Hearing her sounding desperate and miserable caused my resolved to slowly disintegrate. She let out a disheartened sigh, "Alex, talk to me...and I promise, I'll leave you alone for good..." she added weakly, and with a disappointed sigh, I unlocked the door, and swung it open. As soon as I came into full view, her mouth slowly hung opened as she carefully took in my appearance. 

"Okay, let's talk Lauren," I started.

"Alex, your...hair, and you're...in a robe," she said, mumbling the last statement awkwardly as her gaze quickly averted from my chest, making me frown at her reaction. 

"Um, come in, and we'll talk after I changed," I said, stepping aside to let her in, and adjusted my robe to fully cover my chest. She reluctantly walked in, heading towards the sofa, and slowly sat down. Giving her a faint nod, I headed to my bedroom to put on some clothes. I hated to say it, but seeing her now in my living room, made me realize how I missed her. I had been caught up in avoiding her for days, that I had forgotten how comforting her presence was.

Opening my closet, I slipped on a white tee and a black shorts, and blow-dried my hair quickly then after. As soon as I was done, I combed my hair with just my fingers, before going out of the room, and walked to where Lauren was sitting.

I took a seat on the single sofa, and looked at her sternly, "So, what are we gonna talk about?" I asked, not wanting to beat around the bush, but she didn't answer eventually, instead she just stared at me, frowning. "Is there...something on my face?" I queried confusedly.

"Did you...dye your hair Alex?"

I shook my head, "No. I'm naturally a blonde," I admitted.

She slowly nodded, "Oh, well...you look...great..."

I gulped the lump on my throat, and nodded faintly, "Thanks. So...what do we need to talk about?" I asked, trying to shift her attention from me. I still wasn't used to hearing compliments from her as it would eventually make me uncomfortable.

Hearing my question, her soft expression had immediately turned serious as she opened her bag, and took something inside. I watched her curiously, until she held some pictures, and laid them on the center table. With a raised brow, I took a picture where Ethan was posing for the camera while his three bodyguards were behind him, and carefully examined it, eventually seeing his familiar face as one of the three guards. I looked at the other photos as well, and spotted the same person, with Ethan.